The Austin City Council made history Thursday, becoming the first group of city leaders in the deeply conservative state of Texas to endorse marriage equality.

The council's strongly worded resolution (PDF) condemning the Defense of Marriage Act, the nation's ban on same sex marriage, was supported by a diverse coalition of civil rights groups, including Equality Texas, the NAACP, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, the Anti-Defamation League and the Human Rights Campaign.

The resolution was also backed by a petition signed by more than 1,800 people living in and around the Austin metro area. It passed by unanimous vote shortly after 11 a.m. central, which happened to coincide with events in Washington, D.C. promoting National Gay Men's HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. [Raw Story]